Queried Fate
by middaymoon69
Summary: It was always going to happen, it was just a question of when. One of my earlier stories.
1. Chapter 1

March 2000

Sara stepped out of her car, slamming the door and storming towards the lab. She fumed the emotion coursing through her veins as she trekked towards her boss' office. Hodges backed against the wall as she stormed past him, the anger clearly defined across her face and she practically kicked the door open.

"Sara?" Grissom said, looking up from the papers on his desk

"Why did you pull me off that case? It was practically wrapped and now I have to waist the next two days getting someone up to speed before the pre-lim!"

"I just thought that you wouldn't want to go back there again." He said, pulling his glasses off and looking up at her.

"I told you, I wanted to see it through. I need to."

"Sara,"

"Grissom, I told you after my mother came to a place like that…"

"That's why you can't finish the Adam Trent case. You think you need to finish it just because your mother went to a mental hospital, but it's clouding you judgement on the case."

"It is not." She said, sitting down in the chair, throwing the file on the table.

"It is." He said staring at her. "I saw you after he attacked you. Sara, you are one of the strongest people I know and yet I could tell that it was affecting you."

"I cannot believe you did that." She spat at him and she stormed out of the room.

She ran back down the stairs and flung herself into her car, hitting the steering wheel with her fists, the tears leaking down her face. She thrust her hands in her pockets, searching for her keys and swore loudly when she couldn't find them.

"Damn it!" she cried, punching the horn, the tears still streaking her face. The passenger side door opened and Grissom jumped in.

"You left your keys on my desk." He said dangling them in her face. She swiped for them and he retraced his hand, holding the keys firmly in his hand.

"You are in no state to drive." He said

"Give me my keys."

"No Sara."

"Grissom, give me my keys." She said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Sara, how's your neck?"

"Sore." She said, still reaching for her keys but at the same time rubbing her neck.

"Let me have a look." He said, stowing the keys safely in his pocket out of her reach.

"Griss…" she said, tears still falling down her face. He ignored her, moving the collar of her shirt out of the way and gently prodding around the red mark on the side. She flinched, moving away from his hand and leaning back against the window as a thunder clap echoed above.

"Talk to me." He said

"You pulled me off the case."

"Sara, what happened with your mother when she was in that place." He asked, swivelling in the seat to face her.

"I… I don't want to…"

"You need to Sara." And she began to cry more profusely as the rain began to fall.

"I remember her strapped to a table, like the containment room. I can still hear her screaming."

"That must have been terrible for you." He said grabbing her hand from the steering collum and holding it in his as she wept.

"I can't remember much else though. That's all I remembered. I blocked the rest of it out."

"And seeing the hospital brings it all back?" he said rubbing her hand and she nodded.

"I went from remembering nothing to seeing the pictures of mum kill my dad."

"This is why I had to take you off the case." He said as she continued to cry. "Look, I'm going to take you home." And he stepped out of the car, walking round and opening the driver's door. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to his car, pulling the passenger's door open and sitting her inside. He locked her car before climbing in the driver's seat.


	2. Chapter 2

"What's your street Sara?" he said as they peeled away from the car park but she just continued to sob. He sighed, driving back towards his building and pulled into his space, turning to face her as he parked. "Sara?" She didn't say anything so he got out and carried her up the stairs to his apartment, sitting her down on the sofa and pulling a pair of mugs from the shelf, pouring some tea inside them.

"I can see the blood on the kitchen floor." She said in a small voice as he brought over a mug of tea for her. "The knife when she dropped it on the tiles."

"I'm sorry Sara." He said sitting down beside her and putting his arms around her shoulders.

"I need to work Griss. I can't lock myself away from a case because it reminds me of my past." She said, wiping the tears from her face.

"It's clouding your judgement of this case though, which is why you can't finish it. I'll finish it up so you don't have to brief someone else and you can have the next case."

"Grissom," she began to protest

"No, Sara, you need to work through this first." And she nodded in resignation, tears slipping down her face. He pulled the tea out of her hands and enveloped her, her tears drenching his shirt as he stroked the back of her head.

They sat there together for hours, Sara silently crying into Grissom's arms. Neither moved till the sun started to rise, peaking through the window and Sara shifted in his embrace.

"Are you feeling better?" Grissom asked as she sat up, wiping her face again

"A little." She said, accepting the tissues he offered her. He stood up, pulling Sara to her feet and she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you." She said as he returned the gesture, his hand running up and down her back.

"It's OK. Anything you need, I'm here for you."

"Thank you." She said again, pulling her head away from his shoulder to look him in the eye.

"Sara, I'll always be here for you, day or night. That's how much you mean to me." She looked up at him again, searching his eyes and before he knew it she had pressed her lips against his.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." She said pulling away after a minute or two and she dropped her hands from his shoulders, trying to take a step backwards. He kept his hands firmly on her waist and swooped down, catching her lips with his for the second time. He lifted his hands to cup the sides of her face, deepening the kiss as she parted her lips to let his tongue have access to her mouth. She reached out and threw her arms around his neck again and pulled herself up onto her toes, reaching for better access, running her fingers through his hair. They broke apart after a moment breathing hard and Sara smiled as Grissom brushed her hair from her face.

"Don't be sorry." He said.

"How long have you wanted to do that for?" she said, his hands still on her face and he felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed.

"A while." He said, dropping his hands back to her waist.

"I… I… I…"

"Sara would you like to go and have breakfast together?" and she nodded, her cheeks still very red in the face.


	3. Chapter 3

He pulled his keys from the kitchen counter and held her hand as they walked out of the apartment together.

"I know a nice little place around the corner." He said as they walked out of the building.

"That sounds good." She said, entwining their fingers together as they walked. "Café Utopia?"

"Yes, you know the place?"

"I've been here before. If I remember correctly, they do a very nice lemon tart." She said as a kindly waiter showed them to a table

"Do they? I come here for their fillos."

"Well, I'll try your fillo if you try the tart."

"I wouldn't make you try the fillo. As I recall, the best one has meat in it and I know you're a vegetarian."

"You remembered." She smiled as he ordered them coffees and ran his thumb over the top of her hand.

They sat together for hours just talking about life in general and they barely noticed the continual change over of patrons as they argued over the motives of a case they shared the week before.

"What time is it?" Sara yawned a few hours later.

"Nearly noon." Grissom said, checking his watch

"We should really get some sleep before shift starts."

"Yeah. Did you want to catch some sleep back at my apartment since you live all the way across town?"

"Would you mind?" she asked hesitantly as they walked out of the café.

"Not at all." He said holding her hand again as they walked.

Grissom won the battle for the couch, insisting that she take his bed to get a proper rest. He had only just drifted off to sleep when he woke with a start and glared from the streak of light that shone through the gap in the curtains. He could hear Sara crying out again from the next room and ran in side to see her writhing in the sheets.

"Sara? Sara!" he called shaking her awake.

"What?" She called, sitting bolt upright in a dead sweat, the tears still falling down her face.

"You were crying out." He said, sitting down beside her, wiping the hair off her face.

"It's nothing." She said rubbing her eyes. "It happens every night."

"You mean you have nightmares every night?"

"Wouldn't you if you saw half the things I have?" she said looking up at him.

"I suppose I would." He said, pulling her into his arms and holding her while she cried into his shoulder again. "Do you want me to stay with you?" and she nodded. Grissom lay down beside her, never letting her go. She moulded into his embrace, his arm resting just below her breasts and he could feel the tears still trickling down her face onto his arms.

"Don't be scared Sara." He said and she nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, letting sleep over come her once more.

That night, Grissom woke up to find Sara still in his arms but thankfully at peace. Her tears had stopped and he could feel her steady heart beat instead of the tell tale heaving sobs. He got up and showered, changing into a fresh set of clothes before work that night, coming out of the bathroom fully dressed as Sara began to stir.

"Did you sleep better?" he asked, sitting down beside her as she sat up.

"Much better once you joined me. Thank you." And she kissed him lightly as she stood up.

"Do you want to have dinner together later tonight?" he asked, pulling a fresh pair of socks from the dresser draw.

"I'd like that." She said, looking for her shoes and sliding them on. "I really would."

"Would you agree with me that we shouldn't tell anyone in the lab about this though?" and she nodded.

"Well, we may as well go and head into the lab to see what assignments there are for tonight." She said as he stood up, briefly pulling the covers of his bed back to the top. "Thank you again, for last night." She said and Sara kissed him deeply, Grissom holding onto her neck, not wanting them to part.

They managed to hide the day's activities throughout their shift, helped by the fact that Grissom managed to have Sara assigned to his case leaving Catherine, Warrick and Nick blissfully ignorant as they worked their own homicide. For almost a year they managed to keep a comfortable routine, having dinner together nearly every night and spending a few days a week together in each other's arms as they slept – the only nights that Sara managed to sleep through, never more, never less. They were content with each other, happy both personally and professionally, loving each minute they spent together.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sara, are you going to take this weekend off that I gave you?" Grissom asked one morning as they ate breakfast together after a shift.

"What would I do with it?" she said smiling as she sipped her tea.

"Well, I'm not working this weekend either. I was wondering if you would like to come with me to my cabin on the lake."

"You have a cabin?" she asked looking up at him, a smile on her face

"Yeah, it was my fathers. I inherited it when he died."

"I never knew."

"I'm heading up there in an hour and you're welcome to come with me."

"I'd love to." She said, smiling broadly as they stood up, throwing their empty coffee cups in the bin as they walked towards their cars.

"Can I pick you up then in about half an hour?" he said as he got into his SUV.

"I'll be waiting." She smiled and they drove away in opposite directions.

The door bell rang twenty minutes later just as Sara threw the last of her toiletries into a duffel bag, running to answer the door.

"You're early." She said opening the door.

"I couldn't wait." Grissom said, stepping inside and catching her around the waist, pulling her into a kiss.

"Well, I'm ready now. Do you want to head off?"

"Yeah, I want to show you this place – I think you'd love it." He said, picking up the duffel bag and leading her down to the car.

They drove together for close to an hour, stopping only at a supermarket on the outskirts of town to pick up supplies. They drove only fifteen more minutes, most of it down a dirt track till they reached a wooded cabin beside the lake.

"This is beautiful Grissom." Sara said taking in the breath taking scene of the crystal blue water encased by the green foliage.

"It's where I come when ever I need to escape the horrors we see."

"I can see why." She said as he enveloped her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I've never brought any one here before now though."

"I'm honoured to be your first guest then." And she turned around in his arms to kiss him delicately.

"Are you tired?" he asked once she had released him, pulling the bags out of the boot of the car

"A little. Will you stay with me?" she asked putting the food in the small fridge under the counter.

"Come with me." And he pulled her up the stairs into the loft bedroom. "Now, you sit down here and close your eyes." He said directing her to the bed where she sat cross legged on the quilt. Grissom moved to the window and pulled curtains open; the warm light flooding the room and Sara could feel it on her face. "Open." He instructed, sitting down beside her and she opened her eyes, the same breath taking scenery visible from the wall length window.

"This is magical." She said staring out the window as Grissom put his arms around her waist. She leaned into his chest, letting the warmth of the sun and his body combined warm her.

"I can't believe you haven't ever brought another woman here. You would have been a very lucky man."

"Is that so." He said, massaging her neck

"Tell me, how many women have you ever been with?" and he spluttered as she turned around in his embrace to face her.

"You first." He said a little pink.

"Four. There's been four. What about you though?"

"Three." He said still blushing

"Who were they?"

"Well, there was my collage girlfriend, Evelyn, and then I've had two long term relationships since then, Lisa and Theresa."

"Do you mean that you were never close with Lady Heather? We all got the impression that…"

"We were just friends. But who were your partners?" he asked and it was Sara's turn to blush.

"There was James in college, then Mark in California. Then there was Wilson back in San Francisco and Hank, who you knew about."

"Did you love any of them?"

"I thought I did, but it is nothing compared to what I feel for you." She said, turning back to laid against his chest. "How about you?"

"It's more or less the same story. I thought I loved them, but it wasn't real. I love you."

"You love me?" she gasped, looking up at him and he nodded, kissing her gently.

"Oh god, Griss, I love you too." And she kissed him passionately, before falling back into his arms.

He lay back against the pillows, pulling Sara back with him so she could still admire the beauty of nature. She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand subconsciously moving up to tickle his beard with her fingertips and he held her wrist gently, lightly kissing her fingers as she smiled. Rolling over on top of him, Sara let her hair curtain their faces, kissing him passionately as his hands dropped to her lower back. Their mouths opened simultaneously as both tongues begged for entry, she ran her fingers through his hair, resting every inch of her body against his, feeling him start to respond. She gasped, and released him from the kiss, looking down at him as he turned red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, it's hard to control when there is a beautiful woman on top of me." He said. She paused for a moment, looking down at him and smiled.

"I'm not." And she leaned back down, re-igniting their fiery kiss.

"I thought you were tired." He said, rolling them over and pinning her to the bed.

"Some things just completely eliminate that thought from my mind." She said and she kissed him again, as she ran her hands up under his shirt, tickling the soft hairs that ran from his belt all the way up his chest. He moved onto his knees and Sara pulled his t-shirt over his head as he ran his hands up and down her sides, grazing the sides of her breasts making her moan in pleasure. She arched into his touches, her eyes fluttering closed as he cupped her breasts through the cotton of her shirt. Pulling him back down to capture his lips, Grissom started unbuttoning her shirt, caressing the soft skin of her stomach as he worked his way up.

"You are beautiful Sara." He said as her shirt fell open and she blushed as he looked her up and down. "The most perfect woman I have ever known."

She sat up, pushing Grissom up with her and shrugged her shirt off her shoulders, closing the gap on their lips again as she reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra. It fell between them and he tossed it in the corner, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her body against his, feeling the swell of her breasts against his chest. She grabbed one of his hands and moved it to her breast, letting him feel her nipples hardening in arousal. He leaned forward, pushing her back against the pillows, pinching her breasts gently, making her whole body flush in pleasure. She reached for his belt and undid it quickly, pulling it free of the belt loops, throwing it beside her bra before reaching for the button and fly on his pants. She undid them and pushed them from his hips, letting him kick them off the rest of the way along with his shoes. Grissom sat up, his knees either side of her and mimicked her action, pulling her jeans off, pausing to undo her sandals, leaving both of them only in their underwear.

Sara breathed hard as he sat at her ankles, staring down at her and she slid one of her feet out from between him, gently grazing his hardness with her toes as she reached for him again. He growled and fell back on top of her.

"I want this Gil." She breathed in his ear and he propped himself up again, looking down at her, smiling at the use of his first name. He pushed his boxer shorts off and hooked his fingers in her panties, looking up at her again for permission and seeing her smiling face, he slowly pulled them from her.

Grissom leaned over her again and captured her lips, positioning himself between her legs and slowly pushed himself inside her. She gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist as he thrust in and out, arching her hips to match his movements.

"I love you Gil." She said, tearing her lips away and holding on to him for dear life, as though if she let go, she would never see him again. He looked down at her again and smiled, re-sealing the kiss and running his hand up and down her milky thigh. It didn't take much to pull her to the edge and with one final thrust he felt the muscles of her core clench around him and he, with one final thrust, exploded deep within her, collapsing on top of her.

He rolled over, pulling her with him so that she was draped across his chest.

"This, Sara," he said, pulling her hand across his heart, "This is yours. I love you so much honey."

"You have no idea how much this means to me." She smiled, kissing him gently again, a tear falling down her face. He wiped it away, frowning slightly. "But, you said before…"

"I do love you, it's just… remember, a case we had about a year or so ago, the nurse and her boyfriend who was cut up? You said that you wouldn't risk your career for someone you loved. That you wouldn't risk getting left behind for someone you loved." She said, her beard scratching the side of her face.

"I didn't think I'd fall this far in love with you." He said simply, running his fingers through her curls. Sara kissed him passionately and laid her head across Grissom's heart, listening to the beat.

"It's yours Sara. Forever." He said, pulling the covers out from under them and pulling them over their bare bodies.


	5. Chapter 5

They drifted off to sleep together as the sun set through the window, not waking till the next morning. When Sara woke just after sun rise, she found herself alone in the satin sheets. Pulling on a robe that was laid over the chair, she crept quietly down the stairs and found Grissom flipping pancakes in the small kitchen.

"Good morning." She said, wrapping her arms around him as he put the pancakes on the plate.

"Hey, I was going to bring you up the tray."

"I'm already awake." She said, kissing the back of his neck.

"And this spoils my plan." He said, turning the stove off and turning around to face her, kissing her properly, wrapping his arms around her.

"What plan?" she asked as Grissom steered her towards the couch, sitting her down and placing the plate of pancakes on the coffee table.

"Of you waking up in bed with the sun rising and breakfast beside you." He said, sitting down beside her. She rolled her eyes and shifted so that she was sitting in his lap and forked a piece, putting it in his mouth.

"That would have been nice." She said, nestling against him.

"And I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?" she said, licking honey off her finger.

"I was wondering if you wanted to move in with me, I mean, we spend almost every night together now."

"Are you sure honey?" she said, looking down at him, searching his face.

"Yeah, I love you, and I'm tired of the shuffle we've done for the past year."

"Where would we want to live though?" she smiled, kissing him gently, running her hand along the side of his face.

"You want to live with me?" he said, surprised that she agreed so readily.

"I love you. And I don't ever want to leave you." She said and he kissed her firmly, holding her in a tight embrace.

"So where would you want to live?" Sara asked, as they came up for air.

"Well, I think we have three options." He said

"And what are they?"

"Well, we could live at your apartment, or mine, or we could find a new place together."

"I don't want to look for somewhere new just yet." Sara said, fingering his beard.

"Well, that leaves two options." He said, still smiling broadly.

"Your apartment is bigger. Mine is a shoe box studio."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you want to go back to Vegas now? Help me move?" she said, taking another bite of pancakes.

"Let's leave then." He said smiling, picking her up in a fireman's lift, making her squeal.

"I love you Gil." She cried as he carried her back up stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

Grissom sat her down on the bed, throwing her one of their bags and the other, fishing out some clean clothes to go home in.

"I need a shower before we go." Sara said, laying the clothes on the bed once she'd put the old ones in the bag. "Are you going to join me?" and she disappeared behind the door. He hurried to follow her and stepped into the shower as she turned the water on.

Sara let her hands trail over his chest, reaching up to his face where the scratchy whiskers now lay softly against his skin.

"Do you want to shave it off for me?" he asked her, his hands roaming over her back.

"Why do you want it off? It looks good on you."

"It's very itchy, but I might grow a new one."

"What ever you want." She said, kissing him as he poured shampoo in her hair, massaging it through her scalp.

Ten minutes later they stepped out of the shower and Grissom wrapped a towel around Sara's body, warming her before she slipped the robe back on and turned to him, now wearing a towel with the shaving cream in her hand. Delicately, she lathered it onto his face, picking up the straight edge razor and looking him in the eye.

"Do you trust me?" she asked, the razor poised at his cheek.

"Intimately." And she began to scrape away, the whiskers falling away. After twenty minutes, she put the razor down and reached for a towel, patting him dry.

"See, I told you I trusted you." He said and she smiled, slipping out of the bathroom to dress.


	7. Chapter 7

By seven that night they were back at Sara's apartment and she pulled all the bags she had from under her bed, filling them with anything she wanted to take with her. It took them little more than an hour to pile her clothes and books into bags and boxes, leaving only one cabinet un-touched.

"What's in here?" Grissom said, walking over to it and trying to peer through the gap as she searched for the cabinet key.

"My past. I haven't looked in here in nearly six years. Since I came to Vegas." And she opened the doors revealing a collection of memorabilia. Tears began to slide down her face as she saw some of the items, stowing them in a box.

"Sara, talk to me about this." Grissom said, taking the nearly full box and sitting her down on the couch beside him.

"What is this?" he asked, holding out a small box. He opened it and found a very small diamond ring.

"That was mine, when I was eighteen."

"You were engaged?"

"I was, for about a week. His name was James Marsden. He died a week after he asked me to marry him in a car accident."

"How long were you dating?" he asked, clearly a little jealous of a dead man.

"Three months. I don't think it would have lasted though. He only wanted to get married to prove a point to his parents."

"What else do you have here?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder gently as she pulled a scrap book out of the box.

"This is from when my father died. It's the news paper clippings from all the papers I could find that ran the story." She said opening it and flipping through the pages, a few tears rolling down her face.

He brushed them away, taking the box off her and putting it on the ground. "Honey, look at me." He said, and she turned to face him, Grissom pulling her into his lap hugging her.

"The past is the past and you can't change it, but the future doesn't have to be defined by it." Sara nodded and hugged him tighter, replacing the items in the box and closing the lid.

"That's everything." She said, putting the box by the door where there was only a relatively small pile of boxes and a few bags.

"You don't want to take anything else?"

"Every piece of furniture here came with the apartment. It's just those few things there that I think I want to take." She said gesturing to her computer and a favourite chair she had had since moving to Nevada.

They called the door man up to help bring the boxes down and smiling, they managed to fit them in the back of the car in just one go.

"I'll call my broker tomorrow." She said as they carried the bags up to Grissom's apartment and he pulled the spare key out of the draw and handed it to her.

"This is yours now." He said, feeding it onto the ring with her other keys

"To add to my growing collections of gifts you have given me?" she asked, resting her hand against his chest, and he nodded.

"I'll grab the last bags." He said smiling, heading back down to the car. Sara looked around the apartment and opened one of the boxes, putting her clothes on one side of the wardrobe, shifting his own to the side.

"Making yourself at home I see." Grissom said, bringing the last few bags into the room, enveloping her from behind as she reached to put some sweaters on a shelf. She smiled and turned in his arms, kissing him lightly, running the back of her hand over his now clean shaven face.

"Do you want to put my books on the shelves?" she asked, dropping the embrace to turn back to the bags of clothing and unpacking them.

"Sure." He said, pulling the heaviest of the boxes back into the living room and putting the books on the empty shelves.

As midnight ticked nearer, they finished with the boxes and gratefully collapsed on the bed, the exhaustion washing over them.

"So are we going to tell the team?" he said as Sara nestled into his arms in bed late that night.

"Technically, I have to change my address on the employment forms, so any one with half a brain will figure it out."

"We should tell them then." He said, running his hand up and down her side through her night gown.

"Do you want to tell Catherine and Jim then and I'll tell Warrick, Nick and Greg? You do know Catherine and Jim best."

"Do you want to tell them tomorrow then, have it done with? You know they will have questions."

"Yeah, I love you and I want to stop hiding it."

"I love you too honey." He said, kissing her as they turned the lights off

"Tomorrow then." Sara yawned and she rolled into his side to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

It was nearly three in the afternoon when they woke together and Sara stretched against his body.

"Hey." She said turning to face him, his eyes still closed.

"Mmmm Sara." Grissom breathed, his eyes still closed and he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Did you sleep well Gil?" she asked against his lips, squirming as he let his hand trail under her night gown to caress her.

"Very well, and you?"

"I always sleep well with you." She inhaled sharply as she felt his hand trail even higher up to graze the underside of her breasts.

"You seem frustrated." He said as she squirmed beneath his touches, arching as covered them completely with his hands.

"Gil, if you don't stop, I am going to have the biggest smile on my face all day and every one is going to know why." She smiled

"Maybe I want them to." He said slyly, pulling her night gown up around her waist

"You want them to know that despite your age you can still make a woman cry your name aloud?" she asked and he nodded with a smile, pulling her night gown clean off and planting his lips on hers.

Sara tugged at his t-shirt, breaking the kiss only momentarily to pull it over his head and pushed his boxers off with her feet as he ripped her panties from her body. Seconds later he was inside her and they both groaned in the release, intertwining their legs as Grissom thrust in and out of her.

"Oh! Gil!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, a fine film of sweat glistening on their bodies.

"I love you Sara." He said and he kissed her again as she tightened around his shaft, her orgasm washing over her as Grissom exploded deep within her.

"How do you do this to me?" she asked as Grissom lay on top of her afterwards.

"Do what?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Turn me to liquid. Make me weak from desire for you."

"I had no idea I had that effect on you." He said, brushing the hair off her face as she breathed deeply.

"No one has ever made me feel like this before." She said, leaning up to kiss him.

"Never?"

"I always enjoyed myself" she blushed as Grissom rolled off her, still clinging to his arms "But you leave me constantly wanting… needing more."

"I have to admit, you have the same effect on me." He said, caressing her upper thigh as she nestled against him. "To me, it seems beyond any scientific reasoning that we are made for each other."

"Soul mates?" she asked, her head resting on his shoulder

"I love you Sara, and I think you are the only woman who I ever want to spend the rest of my life with."

"I love you too Gil." She said and after a minute she sat up, pulling the sheet with her as she slipped into the bathroom to shower.


	9. Chapter 9

That night, while on break, Grissom called Jim and Catherine into his office, both of them highly confused as to why he needed them.

"What's this all about Gil?" Catherine said, sitting down, flicking her hair off her face.

"Yeah what is it; we're not working any cases together today." Jim said standing by the door.

"I have some news for you."

"Well, what's wrong? Is your mother sick or something?" Catherine said, looking up at him.

"No, nothing like that." He said, "I just thought that it was time, well, you see."

"Gil, spit it out." She snapped, the mother in her coming out.

"Sara and I have been dating each other for the better part of a year."

"Sara, as in, Sara who works in the lab, our Sara Sidle?" Jim spluttered and Grissom nodded, looking over at Catherine whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief

"We just started living together."

"You and Sara?" Catherine managed to say her voice still constricted through shock.

"Why are you telling us now?" Jim said, sitting down in the other chair.

"Sara had to register the change of address so we knew it would come out. We thought it would be better coming from us than from someone in personnel who noticed that we have the same address."

"Where is she?" Catherine asked still dumfounded

"Telling the guys. I wanted to tell both of you though since you have been my greatest friends ever since I came to Vegas."

"Well, I'm shocked, but thank god you finally have a girlfriend. I was beginning to think that you were blowing me off for something disturbing." Jim said, shaking his hand and leaving the office.

"Catherine?" Grissom said turning to face her, disbelief still marred on her face.

"Why did you hide it? And for a whole year?"

"To be honest, we didn't know how far this relationship would take us, but I love her Cath, I can't imagine my life without her." She got up from the chair and moved around the desk to give him a hug.

"I'm happy for you. You need something in your life other than bugs and this job."

"Thank you." He said smiling, returning the embrace. "You're not mad though that we kept it a secret?"

"Oh no, I'm furious, and believe me, you will pay in one way or another, but right now I think we need to rescue Sara from the guys."

"She's in the break room." Grissom said and they walked out the office together.

"So let me get this straight." Warrick said, unfolding his arms on the table in the break room. "You have been dating Grissom for a year, none of us knew and you are now living together? Have I missed anything?"

"I don't think so." She said, blushing furiously, her colour having been the shade of a tomato for the past half hour.

"How did we all miss this?" Nick said, marvelling at their secrecy.

"We were very discreet. The idea was not to interrupt work, but its time now." She said

"I guess this means if any of us wanted to ask you out the answer would be 'no' then" Greg joked and she blushed even deeper.

"It looks like we're just in time then." Catherine said as she and Grissom walked into the room to find Sara redder than ever.

"You knew?" Greg demanded of Catherine as she sat down

"Grissom just told me, but you guys can be vicious when it comes to personal life, so I thought we'd come rescue Sara." Grissom walked around the back of Sara's chair and gave her a hug from behind.

"Go on, kiss her – prove to us that you're not pulling our legs." Nick said, folding his arms across his chest as he looked at them.

"Nick!" Sara cried as she stook up and putting her empty coffee mug in the sink.

"Nope Sara, I've got to go with Nicky here – prove it." Warrick said as she looked around the room for appeals.

"We don't need to prove anything-" she began but Grissom wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a fiery kiss which she enthusiastically responded to.

Greg wolf whistled as the team watched Sara melt in Grissom's arms, definitely proving to them that they were not acting.

"OK, OK" Catherine said, making them break apart, both blushing furiously. "Sara, did you need to join my swing team to make sure there is no conflict?" and she nodded. "Right then, Nick, Warrick, one of you is going back to grave yard. Who wants it?"

"I'll swap." Warrick said "Tina is back on nights so this way I get to see her when we're both home."

"Thanks Warrick." Sara said, giving him a brief hug

"Congratulations guys." Nick said, giving Sara a hug as well while Greg shook Grissom's hand.

"I think break time is over." Grissom said and smiling the team retreated back to their cases.

"That didn't go so badly." He said, his arms wrapping back around her waist.

"No, it didn't. How did Jim take it?"

"Really well. He said he was glad that it was you I was spending time with and not a perverted fantasy."

"Well, I have to get back to the case. I'll get dinner tonight? OK?" she said, pulling his hands off her waist and kissing him softly.

"I'll see you later." And they parted ways.

Sara made her way back to the garage where she and Catherine had been deconstructing a car when they went on break. She was already under the car, checking the fuel cell when she walked in.

"Are you really OK with it?" Sara asked, pulling the jumpsuit on.

"I'm happy for both of you. Both of you needed something more in your lives. I'd been trying to put my finger on it for months because both of you seemed so much happier and less tired. I never thought it was because you were dating Grissom." Catherine said, pulling herself from under the car to look up at her. She sat down on the stool, pushing herself around to the bonnet to examine what was under the hood and pulled a screw out.

"I love him Cath. Its like nothing I've ever felt before."

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"Cath!" Sara exclaimed turning tomato red again and burying her face in the bonnet.

"You are!" she cried, suddenly remembering that she was discussing her friend and boss's sex life and locking the thoughts deep in her subconscious where she could never find them again. "I take it you're the reason he shaved his beard?"

"I shaved it for him. He said it was itchy."

"You know, you remind me of Eddie and me when we were engaged. We couldn't get enough of each other. If our marriage had been like that, we would have lasted. I think you will though."

"You think?" Sara said, looking up and smiling.

"I'm new to the idea but I can see you getting married."

Sara blushed reverting her eyes to the car and smiled secretly to herself. At thirty two she knew that if she wanted a family of her own her time was becoming limited but she could see herself and the a-typical white picket fence with Grissom and faceless children running around the backyard. She wanted the family she had lost growing up, the life that her own mother had stolen when she stabbed her father and she wanted that life with Grissom.


	10. Chapter 10

About a month later, Sara and Grissom were sitting at home on the lazy Sunday morning with the crossword puzzle, Sara leaning in his arms when she finally felt brave enough to breech the subject that had haunted her mind ever since Catherine had mentioned it.

"Grissom, did you ever want a family?"

"I have a family." He said, "You, and the team, my mother…"

"I mean a family of your own… did you ever want your own kids?"

"Yeah, I love children, sometimes I just feel like I'm getting too old to be a father though."

"Your how old again?"

"Forty seven – a full fifteen years older than you my dear." He said, kissing the top of your head. "I take it you want children?"

"I never had a proper family of my own, living in and out of foster care, and I can't help but crave the family I never had as a child."

"Did you want a family… together?" he asked tentatively, putting the paper down and looking down at her pink face.

"I don't know… is it an option?"

"If you would like to… do you want to get married?" he asked her, stroking her hair back.

"Do you mean in general… or to you?"

"Both." He said as Sara sat upright on his lap to stare him in the face.

"I always saw myself married some day. Are you asking me to marry you though?"

"Well, I think if we want to have a family together, we should be a family." He said smiling "So, if you'll have me, I think I was asking you to marry me…"

Sara smiled and kissed him lightly; threading her fingers through his hair and leaning back against him.

"Lets do it." She smiled, "Lets get married!" and Grissom wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss.

"Are you sure?" he said pulling back a moment later

"I love you Gil, and I can't imagine my life without you."

"You're my life Sara." And he pulled her back into a passionate kiss. Scooping her up in his arms as he stood up, he carried her into their bedroom and put her down on the mattress. He kissed her again making her fall back against the pillows and then stood up, walking over to his dresser draws and pulling something out.

"Here, this is yours now." He said handing her a small box and opening it up to reveal an antique diamond ring.

"Gil, where did you get this from?" Sara exclaimed as he pulled it out of the box and slipped it on her finger.

"It was my grandmother's. She gave it to me when she died and told me to give it to someone special when I thought it was right."

"Thank you Gil." She said, gazing down at it before looking up at him again and pulling his lips down to hers. "When do you want to get married then?"

"Do you even want to wait?" he said, and she shook her head.

"It takes a month to get a legitimate marriage licence; can we plan a wedding in that time?"

"Absolutely." He said and he kissed her lightly, Sara pulling his body on top of him, pulling his shirt up over his head as she went.

He hitched her house dress, running his hands along the insides of her thighs making her writhe in pleasure.

"Gil!" she cried as he ran his hand at the juncture of her legs, sitting bolt upright and pulling him into a fiery kiss and undoing the drawstring on his sweat pants and pushing them and his boxer shorts off. She bunched her dress around her waist and Grissom pulled her underwear off and slipping himself inside her. Sara held onto his back as they moved together and he pulled the top of her dress down, reaching out to cup one of her breasts making her gasp into his mouth. He rolled her nipple between his fingers as he thrust into her and she cried out as her orgasm washed over her, the climax dragging him with her.

"I love you, so much." She said, as they fell sideways together onto the pillows and Grissom smiled, holding her against his body.


	11. Chapter 11

"What is this?" Catherine demanded, storming into Grissom's office where he and Sara were playing a game of chess while on their break.

"What's what?" Sara asked, turning around to face their disgruntled colleague.

"This!" she cried, waving the wedding invitation in their faces.

"I would have thought it was obvious by the title. Sara and I are getting married." Grissom said smiling as he moved his bishop.

"When did this happen?"

"About three days ago." Sara said smiling as Catherine threw her arms around her.

"You're not leaving long to plan a wedding though." She said as Nick and Warrick walked in, both holding invitations just like Catherine's. That morning just before she joined Catherine on her way out to a scene, Sara had pushed the invitations through the vents in their lockers, and of most of the people in the lab as well as some of their friends in PD.

"You're getting married now?" Nick said smiling, punching Grissom lightly on the arm.

"A month from tomorrow." Sara said smiling as Warrick hugged her "At the cabin on the lake."

"What cabin?" Nick asked, looking from one to the other.

"My father had a cabin on the lake – he left it to me when he died."

"Well, congratulations," Catherine said, pulling her phone out and reading the message, "But I need to steal Sara back, trace is in."

No sooner as she had steered Sara out of the office where a growing congregation of people were gathering to offer their congratulations had Catherine pushed Sara into the empty lay out room.

"Congratulations, really Sara." She said, smiling broadly and hugging her again, Sara gratefully returning the gesture

"Why did you drag me away? There are no trace results here."

"To see if you wanted help planning your wedding without the interference of the entire lab."

"Really? That would be great, I mean, Gil and I don't want any thing fancy but it is still a big job."

"I know." Catherine said, sitting on the table, crossing her legs "I remember my wedding. I had six months to plan it and it was still a disaster… so, can I get girly here?"

"If you must." Sara sighed

"Did he give you an engagement ring?" and Sara nodded pulling the ring from the chain around her neck where it hung under her shirt "Why are you wearing it there?"

"I didn't want to damage it while we are at work." She said, slipping it off the chain and putting it on her finger so that Cath could examine it.

"Sara, honey, I know you're not the most girly of women, but even you should know that you won't damage a ring when you're wearing latex gloves. This is a beautiful ring by the way – where did he get it?"

"It was his grandmother's." she said as Catherine examined the round stone.

"So," she said, suddenly business like again, "What do you already have planned?"


	12. Chapter 12

The wedding was set for mid October and by the day before, Sara was nervous, the butterflies in her stomach doing a dance. She, Catherine and Lindsay, Catherine's daughter, had left for the cabin the day before and Catherine and her daughter had spend the entire day setting up an alter with white satin amongst the brown and orange autumn leaves.

"This is beautiful." Sara said stepping outside and seeing their work. "Well done, both of you" and she hugged Lindsay who was smiling broadly at the praise she had just received.

"They're not expecting rain are they?" Catherine said, looking up at the sky

"Not for another week and a half." Sara smiled as they walked back into the house, pulling out some dinner for the three of them.

"So, to the last night of freedom." Catherine toasted, pouring her a glass of wine and toasting together once Lindsay had gone to bed. "Are you excited about tomorrow?

"Yeah," she said, looking over at the dress she had bought that was hanging from the loft railing. "I'm nervous though. My stomach is jumping up and down. I've already thrown up a few times."

"Pre-wedding day jitters. That's all, every one has them."

"Well, I just can't wait until tomorrow." She smiled and she stretched on the couch drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Sara woke up to find Catherine already painting her fingernails.

"Sorry, but there is a limited amount of time and I didn't want to wake you up." She said, blowing the lacquer dry.

"I'm actually getting married today." She smiled, sitting upright and continuing to grin. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eleven." Catherine said, pulling a brush from the table and running it through her hair.

"Why did you let me sleep?"

"Relax, I put make up on you while you were asleep. It was much easier than trying to wake you. All I had left to do was your hair and then you can get into your dress. Even Lindsay and I are already ready."

"Wow, I don't know how you managed that."

"The joys of being a single mother with a full time job – you learn to juggle."

By eleven thirty, Catherine had curled Sara's hair and touched up the little bits of make up she couldn't reach while she was asleep and Sara was standing in the loft bedroom in her dress.

"You look absolutely beautiful Sara." Came a familiar voice from behind her as she stared out the window over the chairs and satin sheeting.

"Gil!" she cried spinning around to see him standing there in a suit. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"You look absolutely stunning." He said once she had released him, looking her up and down. She was wearing a simple strapless white dress that fell to the ground with a thin satin sash that wrapped around her waist.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said, running her fingers through his newly grown beard.

"Are you ready to do this?" he said, pulling her into another hug.

"Yeah, are you?"

"I am. I couldn't sleep last night for thinking of you."

"Well, as of tonight, you will have me with you when ever you want" she said, kissing him lightly "I love you."

"I love you too." He said smiling broadly.

"Grissom!" Catherine yelled up the stairs, shocking them both into guilt. "You're not meant to be up here."

"I'm going, I'm going." He said, backing away down the stairs. "I love you." And he disappeared.


	13. Chapter 13

Sara stepped onto the satin sheet outside a little after noon, smiling broadly as she saw her friends all seated around her as she walked towards her soul mate at the end of the isle.

"Let's do this." She said smiling as Grissom kissed her cheek lightly, turning to the celebrant.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in this beautiful place to witness the love that these two people have for one another; Gilbert Grissom and Sara Sidle. You all know these wonderful people and despite only recently being told of their love for one another, have come to see the love and understanding between them, so without further ado, Ms Sidle, would you like to say your vows?" and she nodded, turning to face him.

"Gil, I never thought when we met in San Francisco nearly ten years ago that we would end up here. Over that time I came to value your friendship and then your love. You were there to comfort me when I was sad, to smile with me when I am happy and to share every feeling that I have. I promise that I will be there for you, no matter what happens in the future. I love you Gil and I don't want to spend another day apart, so I promise myself to you for the rest of our lives." She finished, smiling as he hugged her.

"Mr Grissom?" the celebrant said

"Sara, you have made me happier than any one ever has and I can't explain why, only that I love you and I want to keep that feeling for the rest of my life. If you want someone to talk to, I'm here. If you want someone to laugh with, I promise you my smile. If you need to cry, my arms are open and my shoulders are here for your tears. I will stay with you through the pain and the joy. The good and the bad. I promise you, I am here for when ever you need me till the day I die. I love you honey." And Sara threw herself into his arms again wiping a tear from her eyes as she did so.

"Mr Grissom, you said you had the rings?" and he nodded, pulling two gold bands from his pocket, handing one of them to her. "Please repeat after me Ms Sidle. With this ring, I thee wed, promising to love and honour you till the day I die."

"With this ring, I thee wed, promising to love and honour you till the day I die." She said, sliding the band onto his finger.

"Mr Grissom?

"With this ring, I thee wed, promising to love and honour you till the day I die." He said, slipping the other ring onto her hand and she smiled broadly as they turned back to the celebrant.

"Well then, by the powers vested in my by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may-" but he needn't finish his sentence as Grissom captured Sara's lips in his own.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you for the first time Mr and Mrs Grissom." He said and he stepped away from the alter as their friends came up to meet them.

"Well done you two." Jim said shaking their hands as the rest of the team crowed around them

"Thank you Jim." Sara said, kissing him on the side of the cheek

"Did any of you bring your cameras?" Grissom asked at which Greg produced his and began snapping away at the two of them.

"Thank you all for being here today." Sara said smiling as most of the lab techs piled back into their cars to drive back to work leaving Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Greg, and Jim.

"So what are you doing for the next three days then?" Warrick asked, knowing that Ecklie had given them the rest of the week of as a honey moon.

"We're going to go see my mother. I haven't seen her in six years, so we thought that now might be a good time." Sara said, leaning against Grissom's chest tucking her feet up under her body on the couch.

"Well, I hope that goes well for you." Greg said, the only one who didn't know about Sara's past. Jim's radio flickered to life in his uniform, covering the awkward silence and he ducked out to respond.

"I thought we all had the day off – that day shift was going to cover us till later." Nick said

"You do." Catherine said, glancing to check the time to make sure that she hadn't mistaken the time they were due back at the lab.

"Ah, guys, we all need to go back in. Gil, Sara, you need to come too." Jim said waling back into the room, as he attached his radio firmly on the outside, ready for work.

"What happened?" Sara asked as they stood up.

"There was an explosion at the lab. There's nothing left." He said and white faced, they pilled into their cars, speeding along the road to Vegas.

"I'm so sorry guys." Jim said as he drove with Sara and Grissom. "That we have to pull you away on your wedding day."

"Actually, I was thinking the opposite." Grissom said and Sara turned to face him, frowning slightly, and her eyes swimming with tears as she thought of the people who would have been trapped inside. "Most of the guys were up here. There would have been a lot less people there. It could be much worse." And she nodded, Grissom pulling her into a hug as they drove.


	14. Chapter 14

They pulled up in front of the lab less than half an hour later thanks to the police speed allowance and a horrible sight met their eyes. There was no building left, just a smouldering pile of rubble where rescue workers were pulling people out.

"Conrad! What happened?" Grissoms asked rushing over to him. He was sitting on the side walk, holding a cloth to a nasty gash on his head and looked up as Grissom and Sara ran over to him.

"One of the day shift cases had an arsonist who turned out to work in the lab. He wired explosives to the foundations and once we had him in custody, he blew the place up. We only realized just before what was going to happen and managed to get most people out. He wrote it in his statement."

"How many people are hurt?" Sara asked, pulling the cloth from his head to check the cut, putting a large bandage on it that a passing paramedic had given her.

"Two dead including the bomber, five injured so far. But rescue doesn't think there are many more people left. Grissom, one of the dead is the under- sheriff."

"OK Conrad." He said once Sara had finished putting the bandage on "Sit tight, we'll look around for you."

Sara led him over to the two bodies lying on the ground, inside the roped off area. David and Doc Robbins were bent over the under-sheriff as they approached and they looked up.

"The guy died clutching his statement. It survived the blast, so for once, I can close your case for you." Robbins said, pulling the sheet back over the top of him.

"Well, that's good, no need for an investigation, not that we would have the resources now."

"I'm sorry, sir, ma'am, you can't go in here." A police man said, stopping the two of them at the crime scene tape as they tried to duck under it. Sara looked over at Grissom, knowing the cop was surprised to see a bride and groom trying to investigate.

"We're CSI, Gil Grissom and Sara Si- Grissom." He said and despite the desperation of the situation she felt herself smile.

"I'm sorry but without your badges, I can't let you through. You should know that." He said.

"Look," Sara interjected, stepping right in front of Gil. "Do you think we would have left our wedding day if something terrible hadn't happened. And for that matter, does it look like we have our badges on us!" she screamed as Catherine ran over to them, handing them their IDs as they finally stepped under the tape.

It must have been a strange sight – twenty CSI's working the scene, half of them in formal wear and one in a wedding dress, picking through debris but they all worked through the night, searching for survivors. It was nearly dawn when Sara lifted a piece of metal and found a young woman still alive in the ruins.

"It's OK, it's OK." She said as the woman wept in pain, "I'm going to get you out of here. RESCUE! What's your name?"

"Emily. I just started working with the janitorial staff."

"It's going to be all right." She said as Grissom ran over to her with the paramedics.

He pulled her away and held her close as Sara sobbed into his shoulder.

"They won't get her out alive Gil." She said, looking down at her dress where a large red blood stain streaked across the white material, clouded brown from dirt. "She had a pipe through her chest. They won't get her out without killing her."

"I know." He said, holding her close,

"Rick Peris, FBI" a voice said from behind them.

"Gil and Sara Grissom." He said, still holding Sara close as she turned to face the new comer.

"We're taking over the investigation for you. If you could leave any thing you collected and leave the scene right away, we would appreciate it." He said, and Sara nodded in resignation.

"The bomber is dead and his statement survived the blast – it melted to his body, his confession to the bomb was in it." Grissom said, rubbing Sara's back.

"I'm sorry that you were disrupted on your wedding day." He said, noting Sara's dress and Grissom's suit, and Sara nodded, walking with Grissom back over to the rest of the team

"The feds are taking over." Sara said, pulling off her gloves and throwing them to the ground, still walking under the tape and towards the car.

"Go with her Gil." Catherine said, "I'll de-brief." And he nodded, running after her.

"Sara, lets go home." He said and he opened the car door, sitting her inside before climbing into the driver's seat and heading towards their building. The peering eyes of their neighbours looked on in surprise as the bloody bride and filthy groom stepped out of the car and climbed the stairs to their apartment. Grissom unzipped Sara's dress, guiding her into the bathroom and washed the dirt off her. He shed his trousers and jacket, stepping inside with her, the water soaking his shirt as she slid to sit on the tiled floor, letting the warm water wash over them.

"I told her she would be OK, and she is going to die." She wept as he pulled her now drenched underwear off, running the shampoo through her mattered hair, massaging her scalp.

"You did what any one would have done Sara – reassure them and done every thing you could. I would have done the same." She nodded as he pulled his remaining drenched clothes off and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her and turning the water off.

Grissom wrapped a large towel around her and guided her into their bedroom, pulling her pyjamas out from between the pillows and putting them on her.

"It will be better in the morning." He promised, pulling on his own bed clothes and slipping under the covers with her.

"I hope so Gil, I really do." She said, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling his arm around her waist.

"I promise, that it will be." And he kissed her lightly, stroking her hair as they drifted off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Sara woke up early the next morning and the memories of the night before flooded back. The bile rose in her throat as she pictured Emily – the dying woman and she ran to the bathroom, throwing up the little food she had in her stomach.

"Honey, are you OK?" Grissom said, having woken up at the sound and running into the bathroom

"I'll be fine." She said, wiping her mouth and sitting back against the tiles.

"Catherine told me you were sick the other day as well. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I might just run down to the pharmacy though and see if they can give me something. Will you make some breakfast while I'm out?" she asked, standing up, pulling sweat pants and a jumper on over her pyjamas.

"Of course. You don't want me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine." She said, managing a weak smile, and she grabbed her purse, ducking out the door.

She came home twenty minutes later and disappeared into the bathroom again as Grissom made tea and toast.

"Are you all right?" he called through the door only to find her open it a second later.

"I'm not sick." She said, grabbing something from the sink. "I'm pregnant." And she smiled genuinely as he took the stick from her, examining the result for himself. "I grabbed that, thinking that it was a slight possibility when I got the anti-acids. It turns out that we are going to be parents."

It was Grissom's turn to be at a loss for words as he stared at the stick before dropping it and kissing her passionately.

"How far do you think you are?" he said, pulling her into his lap on the couch, hugging her tightly, smiling despite the sadness of the night before.

"No more than about six weeks. I'm only about four days late – that's why I thought I'd check." She said, resting his head on his shoulder.

"So we're going to have a baby by summer." Grissom said smiling, kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much."

"This really turns yesterday around for me." Sara said, smiling, wiping a tear from her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday life was taken away and today, life begins again."

"That's true." He said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"You want to go see a doctor now and confirm it, don't you?" Sara said and Grissom nodded, smiling eagerly and she stood up. "I'll grab my coat."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting in a doctor's office, Sara in a paper gown waiting for the doctor to come in.

"Mr and Mrs Grissom?" the woman said as she walked in and Sara nodded. "I'm Dr Kingston. It says here that you think you're pregnant Mrs Grissom."

"I took a home pregnancy test and it was positive, so here we are."

"Well, let's take a look here." She said, moving the ultrasound over her stomach. "Well, it looks like you are indeed pregnant, you see here – that's the foetus." And tears swam in Sara's eyes as Grissom put his arms around her shoulders.

"How far along am I?"

"Four weeks, so that makes you're due date the nineteenth of June."

"I can't believe it." Sara said in a low whisper as she and Gil stared at the peanut shape on the monitor.

"I'll leave you alone together for a moment and meet you outside." Dr Kingston said and she left the room.

"We're really having a baby!" Sara cried, pulling him into a kiss.

"That's our baby." He said, looking at the screen, smiling so broadly that his beard was oddly stretched. "The start of our family…"

"When do you want to tell people?" She said, changing back into her jeans and t-shirt, smiling and hugging him again.

"I think we should wait till the lab explosion is not so fresh."

"If they ask though, I don't want to lie. I don't want to keep it a secret for ever."

"Well, then if someone asks, we'll tell them."

"Are you sure?" she asked, pulling his arm around her waist and walking out the examination room. He nodded. "We can keep the news to ourself till then." And Grissom smiled, only looking away from her when his phone rang.

"Grissom." He said.

"Gil we're taking over one of the private labs – Orwell Labs, till the county one is re-built. We need you and Sidle – sorry, Sara, back at work tonight to help with the bombing." Ecklie said from the other end of the line

"OK," he said exasperatedly, and no sooner had he said so he hung up. "We lost our honeymoon – they are taking over Orwell for a while wile the lab gets re-built and they want us back to work."

"I expected this after yesterday." She said, climbing into the passenger seat of the car and heading back to their apartment.


	16. Chapter 16

"We're going to need a bigger home Gil if we are having a baby." Sara said as they drove to work that night.

"We can start looking tomorrow." He said smiling and she subconsciously ran her hand over her stomach where the peanut was growing. Their glowing faces were turned to sadness though as they passed the rubble of the old lab on their way to Orwell.

"It is a miracle that there are only three dead of the hundreds that work here." She said staring sadly out of the window.

"It wasn't their time." He said simply and they drove on.

"The Grissoms are here!" Nick called as they pulled up and Sara smiled, pulling Gil's arm around her as they walked inside.

"Gil, Ecklie needs you in his office." Catherine said, literally running into them as she came out of an office.

"Where's his new office?" he said, handing Sara his briefcase and jacket.

"Down the hall, on the left." And he disappeared, leaving Catherine to show Sara to where his new office was.

"How long do you think it will take the county to rebuild the lab?"

"They put it around June."

"Shame I won't be there then." She said sighing before clamping her hands over her mouth.

"Why won't you be there?" Catherine said as Sara put the briefcase on the desk

"Nothing." She said, blushing, trying and failing to hide her smile.

"You're happy about something… what is it…?"

"I'm not saying." She said, standing up and walking round to get a case file off Grissom's desk. "Are we working on the case together today?"

"Yes, Grissom and the guys are working the explosion with the FBI… what is it that you are hiding?"

"You can try all you like but I am not telling you." She said smiling, sitting back down again, flipping through the file.

The two women drove across town to the scene where a woman had been shot in the stomach and then in the head.

"The poor woman." Sara said, bending down beside her and looking at the victims face.

"She looks just like you Sara, apart from the fact that she's blonde." Catherine said shocked, looking down at her. She had the same soft curly hair and gap between her front teeth, along with the deep brown eyes and the thin eyebrows that sat above them.

"Yeah, well, I'm right here though, that's the difference." She said, pulling something out of the victim's hair. "Why do you think they stabbed her in the stomach. The placement isn't consistent with any major vessels or organs that could have killed her."

"Well," David said, "First guess is torture." He said, prodding the stomach "Oh, wait I take it back. The stomach is rigid and hard. She was pregnant. Your killer probably knew and tried to abort it by the site of the wound."

"Bastard." Catherine said, snapping photos away.

Sara got up and walked away from the body, back towards the car, pulling something out of the trunk and bracing herself against the frame.

"Are you OK Sara?" Catherine asked as she walked over to change memory cards in her camera

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… what did the kid ever do?"

"Hey, when we catch the guy, you can ask." She said and they walked back over to the body.

"This looks like a dump job David. You can take her back to the morgue and we'll meet you there." Sara said and they packed up, heading back to the new lab.

"Are you sure that you're OK Sara?" Catherine said as they drove back. "You look kind of green."

"Yeah, I just need you to pull over for a minute." And no sooner had Catherine put her foot on the break, Sara jumped out, holding onto the guard rail, she released the contents of her stomach.

"Sara, you are not OK."

"I am, really." She said wiping her mouth and standing up, smiling slightly.

"You're sick, happy and you won't tell me why…" Catherine said frowning as they stood on the side of the road. "You're pregnant!"

Sara smiled widely and Catherine threw her arms around her friend. "Congratulations!

"Thanks. We found out this morning, but I suppose that since we work at this hour, this is when my equivalent of morning sickness will be."

"This is so exciting!" she cried as they got back in the car. "Is this why you won't be at the lab when it's finished in June?"

"I'm due on the nineteenth." She smiled.

"You can't be that far along then." Catherine said as they drove

"Four weeks. We we're going to keep it quiet till the lab explosion wasn't so fresh. So only you and Gil know."

"Wow Sara! This is fantastic."

"Please, don't tell any one yet though. I know well enough that things go wrong early on."

"Of course." She said smiling as they pulled into the car park and walked up to the evidence rooms.


	17. Chapter 17

"What did Ecklie want?" Sara said as they drove home that morning.

"He wanted to know if I wanted his job."

"Why?"

"He got offered Lab director. The director is going to be named under-sheriff next week."

"You don't want it do you." Sara said as she passed him a bowl of porridge and sat down beside him at their table

"I told him I'd talk to you about it, but you're right. I don't want the logistics, I like the puzzles."

"I get it. I wouldn't want to be married to the next Ecklie any way." She smiled, spooning a mouthful.

"Catherine knows." Sara said a few minutes later over the morning paper as they ate.

"How?" he said, taking the empty coffee mugs to the kitchen.

"She guessed. I was throwing up after a scene and she said that I was glowing earlier with happiness. Don't worry though, she promised not to say anything."

"Well, I really don't care how many people know." Grissom said smiling, "I want to shout it from the roof tops that I'm going to be a father."

"Well, I don't know about that just yet," Sara said, standing up and kissing him as she took the now empty bowls into the sink. "But we could start looking for a new home."

"Do you want a house or a bigger apartment?" he said, turning to the real estate section.

"Somewhere with a back yard for our children to play in." she said smiling, sitting down in his lap as they turned through the pages.

Grissom's hand moved round to sit on her stomach and held her against him. "Here's one. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms with a large back yard in Henderson."

"It's showing today." Sara said, looking closer at the date "Do you want to go and have a look?" she said and Grissom nodded, pulling his keys from the table.


	18. Chapter 18

By the end of November, they were the proud owners of the house in Henderson, already looking at putting their apartment on the market as they packed the place up.

"Do you want a boy or a girl Gil?" Sara asked as they put books into boxes.

"As long as it's healthy, I don't mind." He said, leaning back against the couch and pulling her between his legs.

"It still seems like only yesterday that I moved in here with you." She said looking around.

"It was only three months ago or so."

"And now we're leaving again." She said smiling, pulling his hands across her stomach where the skin was still flat though it had gone rigid like the case she had had a while ago.

"When were Nick, Warrick and Greg coming to help us move?"

"In… two hours. Come on we have to finish packing up." She said standing up and resuming the packing of books.

"Do you want to tell then today that you're pregnant?" Gil asked as he emptied the kitchen draws into a box.

"Why not, the lab investigation is closed and they could all do with good news." She smiled "But not till after they've helped move boxes, other wise they will never get the job done."

"Are all the boxes done?" Nick asked as the three men pulled into the drive way.

"Sara is just finishing in the bathroom." Grissom said with a slight smile, knowing that she was still queasy and hiding it from their friends.

"Well Griss, there's four cars between all of us, how many trips do you think this will take?" Warrick said, picking up a box and carrying it down the stairs to his book.

"If two of you do boxes and two do furniture, it shouldn't take many." He said.

"Well, Nick and I have the bigger cars so we'll do the furniture. Grego, you can take the boxes then." Warrick said, handing him the box and walking back up the stairs with Nick.

It took twenty minutes to load the cars for the first time and Sara stayed behind in their new home, starting to sort the boxes while the men went back for a second trip.

"Is that everything?" she asked as they pulled in for the third time.

"Yeah, that's it Sara." Greg said, handing her a box of cutlery as Nick and Warrick balanced the couch between them, carrying it into the living room.

"Well, we have some news to give you, to say thank you for helping us." Sara said

"What is it?" Nick said, taking the coffee Grissom was pouring for them after running around throughout the chilly afternoon.

"I'm pregnant." Sara said smiling and their friends cried out in joy.

"Congratulations man." Warrick said, shaking Grissom's hand as Nick and Greg both kissed Sara's cheek.

"When is it due?" Nick asked

"The middle of June." She said.

"That's only… one, two, three… seven months for us left to prepare to be uncles." Greg said and they laughed.

"Does Catherine know?" Nick asked as the laughter died down.

"She guessed about a month ago."

"How did she figure it out and we didn't?" Greg wondered aloud.

"That might have something to do with the fact that Catherine has a daughter and hence knows the early signs of pregnancy." Grissom said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, we had better leave you for the fun part of moving – unpacking while we head to work." Warrick said and the guys gave Sara an extra hug as they left.

"I'll see you in the morning honey, OK?" Gil said, kissing her gently.

"Yeah, thank Catherine for me for giving me the day off to un-pack all this." She said returning the kiss. "Oh, and by the way, the insurance company rang while you were on the road; they are going to reimburse you for all those entomological text-books and specimens you had at the lab."

"That's good; they weren't cheap." He said, hugging her. "I have to go though or I'm going to be late for work."

"I'll see you later honey." And she kissed him again as he stepped into the car

She spent most of the night unpacking boxes and by dawn she had finished their bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen.

"Sara, are you there honey?" Grissom called as he pulled in just after eight.

"In the bedroom." She called and he walked in to find her making the bed.

"You must have been working like a dog all night."

"Well, it's mostly finished. All that's left is the living room and the baby's room, once we have some furniture for it." She yawned.

"Why don't you get some sleep, you're exhausted and this afternoon we can go shopping together for what ever we need."

"Yeah," she yawned again, tossing him one of the pillows and a pillow case. She silently pulled her night gown on and slipped between the crisp sheets, Gil joining her a minute later, wrapping his arms around her stomach.


	19. Chapter 19

By the end of February, Sara and Grissom had bought everything they needed and were waiting in their doctor's office for another ultrasound. She had a clearly defined bump now on her five month belly Gil constantly reached round from behind her to run his hands over stomach. "Do you want to find out if it is a boy or a girl today? They can apparently tell now." She said, holding his hands over the bump.

"No, I think I want to wait till it's born." He said, running his hands up and down.

"Same." She said smiling and kissing him.

"Mr and Mrs Grissom?" Dr Kingston said, ushering them into the examination room. "I'm sorry to rush you through today, but I'm over booked."

"That's alright." Sara said, rolling up her shirt as she moved the ultrasound over her belly.

"We're you interested in knowing the sex?" she asked and she moved the wand.

"No, we want it to be a surprise." Grissom said.

"Well, I'll get a picture for you and see you in a month's time." She said and she printed off the Polaroid, leaving the room.

"Look at it." Sara said, wiping the gel off and staring at the photo. "It has real little hands and feet."

"It looks like an actual baby. Our baby." He said as they stood up and walked out of the doctor's office. "Our little baby." He added as they sat down on a bench in the park opposite the doctor's office.

"OH! Gil!" Sara cried, putting her hands suddenly to her stomach.

"What?"

"I just felt it move." And she put his hand on the spot. He felt the fluttering sensation and grinned broadly.

"Was that the first time…?" and she nodded smiling broadly.

"It feels so real now. That I'm actually going to be a mother." She said, leaning into his side smiling each time she felt the fluttering movement.

"You'll be a terrific mother Sara. I just know it."

"How do you know that?" she said looking up at him concern filling her eyes.

"I know that any children you meet, you come across indifferent but you are so good with them. They just trust you instantly."

"How do you say something like that that makes me so happy?"

"I guess it just comes from loving you." He said and they got up, walking back to the car.


	20. Chapter 20

The weather turned hot as May began and Sara started her maternity leave, her belly having become too big to work properly.

"Gil, please, take the weekend off this week." Sara asked him as he came home from work one night.

"Why? Do you think the baby will be born this weekend?"

"No, I got a letter from San Francisco penitentiary mental institution. My mother's dying."

"Oh, Sara," he said, pulling her into a hug, "Of course, we'll take the next plane out there and go see her."

"Thank you." She said, hugging him as tightly as she could, her stomach in the way. "I may not want much to do with her, but she is still my mother."

"Does she know about us? And the baby?" he said

"I haven't spoken to her since she I came to Vegas."

"Well, there's no time like the present." He said, kissing her and pulling a duffel bag from inside the wardrobe.

They ended up taking the train to San Francisco as Sara was forbidden to fly during her last trimester of pregnancy. After six hours in the carriage, squirming in the hot sun, they got off, and Sara stood still as the train pulled away.

"Sara where did they say she was? Was she in the hospital or the prison infirmary?"

"In the hospital." She said and Grissom flung out his arm for a taxi, instructing him to head to the hospital.

"Hello, I'm Sara Grissom. I'm here to see Laura Sidle. She is here from the state pen." She said quietly to the receptionist.

"She's on level six, room 612." She said distain in her voice as she realized that the woman they were after was a convicted murderer.

"Thank you." Grissom said and he steered her towards the elevator. There were two armed guards outside the door and they stopped them as they tried to enter.

"I'm Sara Grissom." Sara said as the guards stopped her.

"I'm sorry, but you are not on my list here of people who may enter the room." The guard with the clip board said.

"It will be there under Sara Sidle. That's my mother in that room." She said as Grissom held his arms on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

"Who is this?" he said, aggressively, nodding at Grissom.

"My husband, Dr Gil Grissom." She said softly. "Can I see my mother please?" she said, trying to push past them.

"Mrs Grissom, the doctor asked that when you got here that you speak to him first."

"Well, can we speak to him please?" Gil said and the guard nodded, pointing to a man at the end of the corridor.

"Sara Grissom." Sara said, storming up towards the man, "Laura Sidle's daughter, and my husband Gil."

"Dr Emert." He said shaking her hand.

"What's happening with my mother?"

"She's in heart failure. We've given her medication, but it's only a matter of time. I'm very sorry."

"How long does she have?" Grissom asked as Sara sank into a chair, running her hand over her kicking baby.

"I think it's a matter of hours before she is put on life support, and then the decision is up to Mrs Grissom when…" and Sara, listening to his words, began to cry silently.

"I hate her. I hate her for what she did to my father and to me, but I can't be the reason she dies too Gil." She said, clutching at his jacket as he sank to her knees in front of her.

"I'll take you in to see her. She is still conscious." Dr Emert said and he led them down to the guards.

"You want us to let Dr and Mrs Grissom in?" the guard said and he nodded.

"Are you an MD?"

"No, PHD. I'm an entomologist." He said, turning back to his wife. "Sara?" she was sitting in the chair beside her mother's bed, gently stroking her hand.

"Mum, are you awake?" she said, shaking her slightly.

"Sara? Is that my little girl?" she said, opening her eyes and turning to face her. "Who are you?"

"It's me mum, Sara."

"You're not Sara; my Sara is a little girl. You're too big."

"No mum, it's me. I'm a big girl now."

"Oh, that's nice." She said in a low voice as Gil and the doctor watched at the foot of the bed.

"I got married mum, and you're going to have a grand-child soon."

"My Sara is too young to be married." She said, the drugs having sincerely confused her mind, and she collapsed back into the pillow.

"Mrs Grissom, her breathing is very slow. If you like we can intubate her now, or we can let her slip away quietly."

"I don't want her to suffer any more." Sara said, wiping her eyes as she clutched her stomach suddenly in pain.

"Sara, are you alright?" Grissom said, walking over to her.

"Yeah, the baby just kicked me very hard."

"You sure?" he said and she nodded.

"Can you please leave me alone with her?" she asked Gil and the doctor and he nodded, leaving the room.

"I'll wait just outside honey." Grissom said and he squeezed her shoulder slightly, getting up and walking out.

"Mum, I hate what you did to dad, and I can never forgive you for that, but you are still my mother. So when you're ready, go join who ever is waiting for you on the other side of life." And she pulled her mother's hand to her belly, letting her feel the grand-child she would never meet. Sara felt the baby kick against her mother's hand, the pressure increasing as her pulse slowed.

"Good bye mother." She said and she pulled her hand off, standing up.

"You don't need to guard her any more." Sara said to the guard as she left the room and the doctor walked in.

"Are you OK honey?" Gil said, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, it's just; the baby is really kicking me hard." She said

"I'm going to take you down to the ER and get them to check you." He said and she nodded, letting him guide her downstairs.


	21. Chapter 21

"Mrs Grissom?" the ER nurse said as she and Gil sat in the triage area.

"Yeah, that's me." Sara said standing up and following her, Grissom walking behind her. She sat down on the bed, clutching her stomach.

"Honey?" Grissom said, putting his hand on her stomach, felling their baby kick.

"I don't think I need to wait for the doctor Gil, I think I'm in pre-term labour." She said, her face contracting in pain.

"I'll get the doctor and they can admit you to the maternity floor here. We won't make it back to Vegas in time." And she nodded as he ran to find help.

"Well Mrs Grissom, you are indeed in labour. I'm going to send you upstairs and get the on call obstetrician to look after you. I think this is brought on through stress. Is there anything stressful happening at the moment?"

"My mother was the prisoner on level 6. She just died." Sara said.

"That would explain it." The doctor said. "I'll call your OBGYN in Vegas and get them to fax over the records." And, pulling a wheel chair from the corner, he helped Sara into it and gave the nurse instructions to take them upstairs.

"I'm scared Gil." She said as the nurse put her in a bed on the maternity floor.

"I know – it's too early, but it's going to be alright." He said sitting beside her and rubbing the small of her back.

"I'm not ready for this."

"Honey, if this baby was born a year for today neither of us would be ready. But like it or not we are going to be parents – today or tomorrow."

"Mrs Grissom? I'm Dr Zoë Andrews. I'm going to look after you and your baby."

"Please call me Sara. I know this is going to be a long night. This is my husband, Gil." She said.

"OK then Sara, can you tell me when you were due?"

"The 19th of June." Grissom said, still rubbing the small of her back.

"So you're very early then." And Sara nodded. "Well Sara, I don't want you to worry. We are going to make sure that you are both OK."

"Thank you." She said the fear still on her face though.

"Sara, I need you to lie on your back so I can see how far along you are." And Gil moved away to let her roll over as Dr Andrews examined her.

"You only have a few hours to go. You must have gone into labour a while ago, so why don't you call your family or friends and I'll be back in an hour. If you need anything, just buzz the nurse." And she left.

"Sara?" Grissom said as she lay back against the pillow.

"This is too early Gil." She sobbed

"I guess it was the labour you felt, not the baby getting violent with you." He smiled softly

"Do you want to tell the guys back home?" she said as a contraction passed through her body.

"If you want me to." And she nodded. "I'll just be outside."

"I'm not going any where." And he smiled, ducking out of the room.

"Hey, Catherine?"

"Gil. How's Sara's mother?"

"She died about two hours ago. Listen, we're not coming back for a few days at least."

"I get it, the funeral, burial and then the trip back."

"No, no. The state is taking care of that. Sara went into labour from the stress. She's having the baby tonight."

"Oh God, Gil!" she cried through the phone. "Is she alright?"

"They're looking after her. Listen, can you tell everyone what's happening? I'll call you in the morning and let you know what's happened."

"Good luck!" Catherine called and Grissom hung up.

Sara was curled on the bed, breathing hard when he came back inside the single room.

"Honey?" he said, walking round the side of the bed to face her.

"I hate you." She spat, pain constricting her body. "You are never going to touch my body again." And she relaxed, tears spilling down her face. "I don't hate you Gil, please. I don't." and he kissed her forehead wiping her sweaty hair off her face.

"I know." He said and he pulled her into a hug. "I wish I could do this for you, but I can't."

"Gil, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry." He said, climbing up on the bed and sitting behind her. "You're doing so well."

"Get the nurse Gil." She said, leaning back against him as she felt her stomach contract.

Dr Andrews and the nurse came running in moments after he had pressed the buzzer, both bending over to check her.

"Sara, we need to take you into the delivery room, its time." Dr Andrews said and Grissom jumped off the bed, as they wheeled her out the room.

"What time is it Gil?" she asked as they moved down the corridor.

"Just after midnight. Why?"

"I didn't want our baby born on the same day my mother died." And he nodded with a sad smile.

"Sara I need you to sit up." Dr Andrews said, adjusting the bed so that she was sitting. "You need to sit behind her and hold her legs." And Gil did as he was told.

"Gil, I'm still scared." Sara said as the nurse put her feet in the brackets.

"Hey, you are the strongest woman I know. You can do this, and Dr Andrews here is going to make sure that the baby is OK, aren't you?"

"Absolutely Sara." She said as Sara contorted again. "Good, it's crowning Sara. You can start pushing at the next contraction – it should be in about ten minutes." And Sara fell back in Gil's embrace.

"Screw ten minutes!" she cried and she arched again.

"Push Sara." The doctor said, and Gil held her knees has she curled.


	22. Chapter 22

Half an hour later, Sara collapsed and tears filled her eyes as a weak cry joined the room.

"Congratulations, you have a little boy." Dr Andrews said, holding up the child, smiling. "We're just going to clean him up and check to make sure that he's healthy, being so early." And she took the baby over to a waiting paediatrician.

"We have a son." Sara panted as Gil pushed a blanket over her legs to keep her warm.

"I love you honey." He said, kissing the top of her head. The nurse wheeled Sara back to her room and the paediatrician followed them, the baby in the glass crib.

"Your son seems very healthy despite his size. We are just going to keep him here for a couple of weeks or so till he is a bit stronger, and then you can take him home to Nevada." The paediatrician said handing him to Sara.

"Thank you." She said, taking him and smiling down at him. The nurse and doctor left the room leaving Grissom and Sara alone with their son.

"He's perfect Gil." She said looking down at the sleeping babe.

"He is, isn't he?" he said, cupping his head. "What should we call him?"

"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"

"Maybe 'Jasper'?"

"'Jasper Grissom'… it doesn't really roll off the tongue." She said.

"How about Sam – Samuel then. Samuel Grissom. Like your grand-father's name."

"I like it." She smiled, handing the baby to Gil. "He looks just like you… without the beard. We should give him your name as his middle name."

"Samuel Gilbert Grissom?" and Sara nodded, leaning back against the pillows, the exhaustion over coming her.

Gil carried him over to the window staring out at the lights. He couldn't take his eyes off his son, willing himself to believe that he really was a father. He took in every detail from the miniscule fingers and toes to the light tufts of dark hair on his head.

"Mr Grissom?" the nurse said, coming into the room. "I have to take him for feeding since your wife is asleep." And he spun round noticing that Sara had dozed off.

"Of course." He said, handing the baby to her. "He has a name now. Samuel Grissom. Could you put that on his medical bracelet?"

"That's a beautiful name" and she left the room with the baby.

He stepped outside the room and pulled his cell out.

"Catherine? It's Grissom."

"Gil, what's happening?"

"Sara had a boy. 6lbs exact."

"Oh, Gil! Just to let you know, if I was there, I would be hugging you."

"Thanks." He smiled into the receiver. "We named him Samuel, after her grand- father."

"Samuel Grissom, that's great. Take a photo with your phone and send it to us."

"How do I do that?"

"You give your phone to the nurse and ask her to take a picture." And Grissom laughed. "How's Sara?"

"She's asleep now. She's exhausted."

"I'll bet. I slept for three days straight after Lindsay was born; then again I was in labour for 47 hours."

"Well, it only took about six hours for Sara thankfully."

"That's great – oh, hang on a minute. Guys!"

Grissom could here Catherine's conversation with Nick and Warrick as she hadn't closed her phone. He smiled as he heard the men cheering and could tell that they were reaching for the phone. "No! You can talk to them when you've sealed the case." He heard Catherine say and she put the phone back to her ear.

"They give their congratulations." She said

"I could hear. Listen, I have to go. I'll send you a photo." And he hung up as he saw the nurse come back towards the room with his son.

"Thankyou." He said taking the baby. "Nurse?" he said as she turned to leave. "Would you be able to take a picture of me with him on my cell to send it to our friends back home" and she smiled taking the phone from him.

"Who would you like me to send it to?"

"There's a number under Catherine Willows. Send it to her and she'll distribute it for me." He said taking the phone back.

Walking back into the room the first thing he saw was that Sara was awake again.

"How is he?" she said, taking him from Gil.

"He's awake now." He said, sitting on the side of the bed with her. "I called Catherine again. She sends her congratulations as do Nick and Warrick. She's telling the rest of the team as we speak. How are you?"

"Physically sore and tired but, he makes up for all of it." She said, looking down at Sam

"He's perfect Sara. I can't believe we made that."

"And the scientist is lost in the realm of the normal man." She smiled and pulled him into a kiss.

"The doctor came in while you were on the phone. He said that we may only need to stay here a week at the most. Sam is apparently healthy enough." She smiled and Sam grabbed onto her finger, holding tight.

"He's a month and a half premature, are they sure?"

"They gave him steroids to help build his lungs but he only needed the one course and after that we can go home… together… a family." She smiled broadly and Grissom kissed her again.

"So we need to buy some blue when we get home." And she nodded.

"Why don't you go down stairs now and get some clothes. He'll be needing some while we're her." And he nodded, disappearing to the gift shop.


	23. Chapter 23

Two weeks later both Sara and Sam were released and were on the plane heading back to Vegas.

"At least we don't have to take the train." Sara said as they boarded the flight.

"Do you think he'll sleep through the flight?" Grissom said as they strapped themselves in.

"I don't think we'll be so lucky." She said, putting Sam in the car seat they had bought and strapping the seat to the plane's one. "The flight is only an hour and a half though."

"Well, here's to hope." Grissom said, giving Sara a chaste kiss as the plane began to move.

Sam started to cry as they took off and the moment the plane was level, Sara pulled him out of the seat, trying to comfort him.

"Don't tell me we're stuck with a screaming brat for the entire trip." A man sitting behind them said.

"Excuse me?" Grissom said turning around to face him.

"Well, it would be nice if your wife could control the kid."

"He's only two weeks old, it's a little difficult." And he turned sat back in his seat.

"Well then you should respect other people and not bring brats on a plane."

"Gil, could you take him for a minute?" Sara asked, handing Sam to him. "Sir, what's your name?" she said turning to the man behind them

"Brian Trainsick." He said, his southern accent thick.

"And what do you do Mr Trainsick?"

"I'm a contracted builder. Why the hell do you need to know."

"Well, my husband and I are criminalists, meaning that in addition to us working for the police department, we also have the authority to arrest you for harassment."

"You can't do nothing bitch, just shut your kid up."

"Sara," Gil began, but she waved him away.

"You don't get it do you." And she lowered her voice so that only he and Gil could hear. "We're licensed to carry on the flight, so please, I haven't slept in days, so shut up and let us be, or I can arrest you."

The guy went white and sat back in his chair as Sara turned back to her seat.

"Sara?" Gil said as she took Sam back off him, bouncing him slightly, making his cries subside. "How do you do that?"

"You never let a man do a woman's job."

They stepped of the plane an hour later and Gil got their bags while Sara put Sam into the marsupial carrier on her chest. They walked together out of the gate and the first thing they saw was the team, waiting for him in the arrivals hall.

"Hi." Grissom said as they walked over to them and they jumped, not having seen them come through the doors.

"Welcome back!" Warrick said as Catherine immediately ran over to Sara.

"This is Sam." She said smiling sitting down at the table where the rest of the team was seated. Grissom grabbed a chair from another table and sat down beside her.

"He's so small." Nick said, looking over the table at him.

"He's a month and a half early, did you expect him to be like a one year old yet?"

"No, but… he's really small."

"Can I hold him Sara?" Catherine asked and she nodded, undoing the harness and handing the baby to her.

"He's gorgeous Sara, well done." Brass said making her smile broadly as Catherine handed the baby to Nick. She leaned into Gil's arms and they both smiled as their friends met their son for the first time, as he started to squirm in Nick's arms.

"What's up with him?" he said as Warrick took him, trying to settle him.

"He probably needs his diaper changed." Sara said, reaching for him again and picking up her hand bag which now included diapers and powder.

"I'll come with you." Catherine said and the two women walked off into the bathroom.

"He really is spectacular Sara." Catherine said as they pulled down the change table.

"Thank you." She said, undoing the jump suit to pull the diaper off.

"We're you OK alone up there?"

"I was with Gil." She said smiling and throwing the dirty diaper in the bin.

"I mean, it just being the two of you for the fortnight you were there."

"I would have loved it if you guys saw him earlier, but at the same time it was nice, getting used to the idea of being a family."

"Well, if you need any help what so ever, just let me know." She said as Sara knocked over the baby powder.

"Thanks. Expect a few phone calls?"

"A few?"

"A day." She said and Catherine smiled.

Sara picked Sam up, patting his back though he still squirmed.

"He's probably hungry Sara. When did you feed him last."

"About, four or five hours ago."

"Well, you should feed him."

"But I only fed him every six or seven hours in San Fran."

"And I'll bet in-between the doctors were giving him supplements to make him grow faster. You need to feed them when ever he's hungry."

"Right. This is why I'll be ringing you." She said, sitting down on the chair and undoing a few buttons on her shirt.

"Did you have someone to help you with all of this Cath?" Sara said as Sam began to feed.

"My mother helped me out a bit, but I was mostly on my own. I wish I had had help."

"I can't imagine. Only two weeks in to being a mother and I nearly kill my kid from starvation because I don't know how often to feed it." Sara said, a few tears leaking from her eyes.

"Hey, another tip before you get too comfortable; swap boobs or you'll end up a D in one and a AA in the other." She said and Sara blushed, making Sam swap sides.

"Thanks again."

"It will keep you even. I waked around for weeks looking like I had had a single mastectomy because Lindsay would only feed on one."

They sat talking for another ten minutes till Sam was finished and walked back out to the guys.

"Is he settled now?"

"Yeah, he was just wet and hungry." Sara said, sitting back down, cradling him in her arms.

"Do I get a hold before you head home to see what we left in your house?" Brass said and Sara handed Sam to him.

"What did you leave in our house?" Gil said suspiciously.

"A present." Warrick said, standing up and throwing the empty coffee cups on the table into the bin. "Catherine, we got a case when you were helping change the diaper. We have to go."

"Yeah, yeah, alright." She said and she stood up. "Congratulations you two." And they left leaving Nick and Brass.

"So are you our ride home?" Sara asked as she watched Brass cooing over her son.

"Yeah. I brought my niece's car seat, but I see you bought one" Nick said.

"Well, let's go then." Gil said and Brass handed the baby back to her.

Twenty minutes later, Nick dropped them off, driving away before they even opened the door.

"Sara, you have to see this." Gil said walking inside as she fussed with the baby carrier. They had filled the dresser draws of the nursery with blue clothes and toys. The changing table was stocked with nappies and there were balloons tied to the crib, along with a banner that read 'Welcome home Sam'. "They must have done this as soon as they found out it was a boy."

"Wow." She said, laying Sam in the crib and turning down the lights so that he could sleep. "Come on, we can go through it later, he needs to sleep." And they turned the baby monitor on, walking back out into the living room.

"Is this the beginning of everything you wanted?" he asked her as they sat down on the couch together.

"Yeah, it is… thank you Gil."

"We are a family now." He said, pulling her into a hug, kissing the back of her neck. "You'll never be abandoned again Sara, I promise you that. We'll be here for you."

"And I'm never letting go of either of you. I love you Gil. And Sam."

"It's so hard to imagine how you can love something that can't walk or speak or do anything really."

"You wouldn't let go of it though just because there was no scientifically plausible explanation?"

"Of course not. I love you and Sam more than I ever could." He said and they lay together not rousing until Sam began to cry over the monitor.


	24. Chapter 24

Epilogue

2010

Sara sat on the back step of their house and smiled as she watched Gil run around the back yard with Sam, chasing a butterfly for his collection. Sam was nine years old now and he looked the spitting image of his father – the same as the day he was born though still without the beard. They had had two other children in that time. Jack was born two years after Sam and finally when Jack was seven, they had Charlotte who was now six months old.

"Mummy, when is Aunty Catherine coming?" Jack asked, pulling on her sleeve as she rocked Charlie in her arms.

"She's coming after dinner, so why don't you go and tell Sam and daddy to wash their hands and we'll go and eat."

"OK." He said and he ran down the steps to his father.

She stood up and carried a sleeping Charlie into the kitchen to stir the pasta sauce on the stove.

"Is dinner nearly ready or is Jack just hanging out for Lindsay?" Gil said as he walked into the room, taking the baby from her.

"Both." She smiled. "Can you get her up?"

"Sure." He said, tickling the baby, making her squirm and wake. She started to cry and Gil put her in the high chair as Sara spooned the boy's pasta onto their plates.

"Sam, Jack, dinner!" she called, putting the food on the table and going back for the others.

"Dad, can you help me with my home work tomorrow?" Sam asked as he started shovelling the food down his throat.

"Sure. What's it on?"

"Volcanoes."

"What do you have to do?" Sara asked, handing Gil a plate as she spoon fed Charlie mushed apple.

"I have to find out where the lava comes from."

"You know, it's not actually lava, its- " but Sara silenced him with a look. "We'll go over this after dinner." And she nodded in approval. The door bell rang seconds later and the boys raced down the hall together, competing to open the door.

"Hi Aunty Catherine." Jack said blushing as he hugged her around the middle.

"Hey. Is Lindsay here?" Sam said and when she nodded, he rushed outside to meet her at the car.

"Mum, dad, she's here!" Jack said and he ran back to the table as Gil put the dishes in the sink.

"Hey." Catherine said, sitting down at the table "How are you?"

"We're good." Sara said, wiping Charlie's mouth clear of the apple.

"Jack, do you want to go and play with Sam and Lindsay?" and he nodded, running out to meet them.

"Sam still got a crush on Lindsay?" she asked and Sara nodded. "He's going to be devastated when he finds out that she's moving in with her boyfriend."

"When did this happen?" Grissom said, pulling the baby out of the chair and burping her.

"Last week. How are your kids though?"

"Sam has homework, Jack wants to do ballet and Charlie here is sleeping through the night now!" Sara smiled, as Grissom picked up the now empty container of mushed apples and threw it along with the spoon into the sink. Sara pulled Charlie out of the high-chair, sitting her down on her lap, wiping her face clean, Grissom and Catherine chatting easily over the table.

"I've missed you since you left the lab." Catherine said to Grissom as he picked up his son's bowls from the spaghetti.

"It's only been two weeks. And working at the LVU is not exactly across the country." He said. He and Sara had decided that keeping their children with the night shift routine did nothing for their family so Grissom had arranged for Sara to swap to day shift, starting when she got back from maternity leave from Charlotte and Grissom was now teaching both forensic science and entomology at the university. He missed the lab but it was time for a change and Sara still brought the occasional case file home for him to review.

"We all miss you there." Catherine reiterated, looking up from Charlotte at whom she was pulling faces.

"Well, any time you need a consult, Sara told me that I'm still on your speed dial."

"I'll remember that." Catherine said again.

"You like being the sole supervisor now?" Sara said, referencing the fact that she had taken Grissom's job.

"Well, I like the pay." And the three of them laughed, Charlie looking up at them all curiously at the sounds. "You know, she is the spitting image of you Sara."

"She got Gil's eyes though. They all do." She smiled, handing the baby to him and he blew a raspberry on his daughter's stomach making her squeal and giggle.

"Do you want me to give her a bath before we go?" he said, still blowing raspberries.

"Do you mind?" Sara said, half getting up.

"No, I got it." And he disappeared down the hall.

"Do you want to get changed before we go?" Catherine asked as she helped Sara clear the rest of the table and she nodded, looking down at her shirt, seeing that it was stained with both baby spit-up and apple.

"You can keep talking to me though if you want." She said as she disappeared into the bedroom, leaving the door ajar. "Who's the new boyfriend Lindsay has?"

"This one's not bad. He's an architect's apprentice."

"A collage graduate this time." Sara smirked, pulling the shirt over her head and walking out.

"Not a new boyfriend either apparently. They have been dating since March… when Charlie was born."

"She kept is secret from you?"

"She said that all her other boyfriends have been scared off by me and she wanted to wait till she knew he could handle it."

"What's his name?"

"Tom Stevens. He seems nice enough though."

"Well, if he passes the Willow's approval…" and the women laughed as Grissom came out of the bathroom, Charlie wrapped in a towel, her cheeks rosy from the warm water.

"I'll just get her dresses and then we can go." Grissom said, taking his daughter into her bedroom and extracting a nappy and pyjamas.

"Are the rest of the team going to be there tonight?"

"Of course. No one would miss celebrating your birthday."

"Eighteen years young." She smiled, her philosophic view on her age shining through. "Remind me to thank Lindsay for looking after the kids."

"Hey – we watched her for twenty years; she can manage a few hours." Catherine said as he own daughter walked towards them, Sara's boys either side.

"Aunt Sara, these boys are trying to convince me that they get desert once you are gone. Are they yanking my leg like last time or do they get a pass?" she said and the boys grinned maliciously.

"It's the same as it is every Friday night – as long as they do the dishes and put them away, they can have one from the freezer." She said to her sons groans at the mention of chores.

"Mom, how come Charlie doesn't have to?" Jack said

"Because Charlie can't stand up yet. When she can, she'll have a job." Sara said, rolling her eyed.

"Lindsay, this one is all yours for now." Grissom said reappearing with Charlie who was still giggling. Lindsay took the baby and lightly tapped her nose making her laugh still harder.

"Thanks Uncle Gil." She said and he nodded, taking Sara's hand.

"We should be back by ten."

"Eleven." Catherine said as she walked towards the door.

"Can you have them in bed by seven thirty, eight?" Sara asked and nodding, Lindsay turned to the boys who were already washing the plates, eager for their ice cream.

Sara turned at the door to look at her children, comfortable in the twenty year olds presence.

"Sara?" Grissom said and he laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I still don't like leaving them."

"Hey – they'll be here – waiting when we get back. And even better – they'll be asleep." He said and she smiled, turning and closing the door, walking towards Catherine who was already in the driver's seat of her car, waiting for them.

"Gil?" Sara said and he stopped, turning back to face her, out of the eye line of Catherine.

"What is it honey?" he said and she wrapped herself around him, moulding herself to his body.

"Do we have to go tonight?"

"They are expecting to see you for your birthday." He said, kissing the top of her head. "They want to see the sexy woman I manage to marry and had three kids with." And she hit him lightly on the chest.

"Ten years soon." She said, referencing their wedding anniversary which was only a few weeks away.

"And I still love you as much as I did then as I do today." He said kissing her softly and she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't." and he pulled back, slightly confused. "I love you more. You gave me a family, you are my family." She smiled and he laughed, kissing her again with more force than before. They broke apart as Catherine honked the horn, and smiling, walked back over to her.

"Still make each other happy?" Catherine said as they climbed in and she pulled away from the kerb.

"Always." Sara said smiling broadly and Grissom's arm wrapped around her waist.

"Just, please tell me, you're not planning on having any more kids are you?"

"Oh no – I made him promise me after Jack was born… and again after Charlie." Sara said, resting her head against his shoulder.

"We're happy just the way we are."


End file.
